And they lived
by Terrini
Summary: Based off of SyFy's "Alice". It's all in the title - Alice and Hatter's live after the end of "Alice". Mini-fic. Alice/Hatter.


I couldn't help it – this fic is a stream of consciousness, but I was itching to write it)) Not beta-ed, and I'm ashamed of all possible mistakes.

**And they lived…**

It was amazing how quick and easy their life together settled down. As if Hatter always lived on Earth. Not that Alice gave it much thought – she simply had no time for that for more pressing matters required her attention – but one would think that it would take a Wonderlander more than just a couple of weeks to adjust to a brand new life in a brand new world. But Hatter… Hatter was Hatter, one and only. Unique and capable of everything. Well, almost everything, now Alice was sure of that.

He never told her how he managed to come to Earth before her, and then occupy Jack's flat, buy new clothes (obviously prince's clothes wouldn't fit shorter and less broad-shouldered Hatter), got an ID (Alice saw it with her own eyes: "David Andrew Hatter", 31 years old) and even take a job as a construction worker (Alice met some of his colleagues before he quit this job, which, in Hatter's words, "was fun. Kind of.") - all in the span of a few days. Apparently it was Jack who helped Hatter (and Alice couldn't but feel a bit of admiration for the new king of Wonderland because he assisted his rival, who had won Alice's heart), but how it was possible remained a mystery. Then again, less than a month ago Alice didn't believe in Wonderland, so maybe it was high time to start believing in miracles and magic. However, despite her adventures, Alice still couldn't grasp the fact that such things really exist. Probably because her favorite childhood book wasn't exactly a fairy-tale and Wonderland, as it turned out, happened to be a far cry from Alice's fantasies about it. No magic. At least not as citizens of Earth used to imagine it. And no joy and silliness.

Wonderland… A land of impossible things. An impossible land. How Carroll's world, wonderful, erratic and crazy, had changed into a place where Alice was almost killed, a "society of instant gratification"? Or Carroll's book was not a real story of Wonderland's, but sort of a legend? Or a twisted prophesy? Was Alice's Hatter _the_ Mad Hatter? Was he acquainted with _the _Alice (if she had ever existed)? Evidently not, but still… Alice had thousands of questions, but Hatter didn't answer half of them (didn't want to or, perhaps, couldn't), and Alice decided not to press him, because some memories clearly hurt him. For example, when Alice asked him whether the March Hare and that strange creature with plastic hare's head were the same person (and weren't the Hatter, the March Hare and the Dormouse supposed to be friends?), the look on Hatter's face told her that it was not the best topic for conversation.

It seemed that Hatter turned over a new leaf and didn't regret it. He blend into Alice's world so perfectly and effortless (or he just made Alice believe so), that now and then she doubted that Wonderland was real and not just a colorful-head-trauma-induced dream. Fortunately, Hatter was always there for her to reassure her. Alice couldn't bring herself to call him 'David' and only used this name for the sake of appearance, when they weren't alone. He wasn't David, he was Hatter. Her Hatter. Sometimes she wondered if he was mad. Mad Hatter, that is. Here, on Earth, he didn't look like one, but Alice knew that it was an illusion. Hatter could drag her out of bed in the middle of the night after a passionate lovemaking to go out stargazing (in January, minus 12 degrees Celsius. "Stars are so bright today!"). Or be late for a date for an hour because he was looking for perfect flowers for his beloved Alice which, in his opinion, were wild flowers, including cornflowers and ranunculus ("I think they suit you better than roses and lilies. Roses and lilies are boring. And trivial."). Or do something equally mad. Alice suspected that most women would call him extremely romantic, and deep in her heart she thought the same, but she always considered herself rational and down to earth girl who didn't care about romance (though Hatter tried to argue her out of "this ridiculous notion. You're very romantic. Remember Jack – an _unromantic_ girl wouldn't fall for this arrogant fool"). Hence Hatter was mad. In good way, of course, but nevertheless. Only Mad Hatter, who had run a tea house in Wonderland could open a tea house in Alice's hometown ("Do you know anything about tea? Proper tea, not the one made out of oysters?" – "My dear Alice, I was running _a tea house_ and I'm an expert in all sorts of tea. Trust me, everybody gonna love my blends." He was right, much to Alice's surprise).

On the other hand, only Mad Hatter could destroy invisible but thick walls that Alice had set up around her after her father's disappearance: even more than heights she was afraid to loose another man she loved, and never allowed herself to became really close with anyone except her mother. Hatter did it, easy and readily (and it had nothing to do with the fact that Alice finally found out why her father had left her, and that he hadn't done it willingly).

Anyway, Alice was glad that all in all Hatter wasn't like Carroll's Hatter. Let alone a bit of madness, _her _Hatter was clever, gentle, funny, kind, strong and brave (he insisted that he was strong and brave only thanks to Alice who made him a better person. She told him not to be an idiot for if it wasn't for him she'd be dead). And she loved him. Oh, how she loved him!

So, after all, she got her happy-end and "they lived happily ever after". No matter that it was definitely not how Alice's adventures in Wonderland were supposed to end – Hatter was sure that his Alice deserved all happy-ends in the world, and she used to trust him completely.

They named their daughters Dorothy and Wendy, though Alice vetoed name "Harry" for their son (as well as "Romeo", her mother's suggestion, – that wasn't the destiny Alice wanted for her child). That's why James Hatter was free to make his own fairy-tale as soon as he grew up.


End file.
